Chapter 129 - Savage Horned Knights

Cale held a recommendation letter in his hands. This was something that Alucard gave him before they parted ways. 

Alucard's group still had some things to do in Manu Town, so he just provided Cale with the letter and told him to present it to the Mercenary Guild.

"With this recommendation letter from Alucard, we shouldn't have problems with our application to become mercenaries, right?" 

Cale muttered to himself with a bit of doubt. Although he had a good impression with Alucard, the latter also held so many secrets. So he was unsure if everything would go well according to Alucard. Nonetheless, Cale already planned to go straight to the Celestial Sword Empire. 

Of course, it was not that easy to reach the empire. They still had to pass by the forested region of Death Forest. Although it was merely the outskirts of the Death Forest, there were still strong beasts lurking within. Especially during the night, when savage beasts were more active. 

Cale glanced at the darkening sky calmly, before looking at his subordinates who looked rather bored.

'These people... It's as if they didn't fight a cruel battle just this morning...' Cale speechlessly glanced at them before he spoke. 

"Let's rest for the night. We have consumed a lot of elemental essence this morning, so a good sleep is very important."

"Yes, my lord!" They answered in unison while glancing respectfully at Cale. More than a year ago, they were still stronger than their lord, but now... They don't even know if they could last ten exchanges against him.

They set up their camp within the forest, disregarding the danger. The Death Forest was notorious for the large number of savage beasts living inside, especially in the central parts of the forest where the strongest beasts live. There were even reported sightings of Immortal-Class level savage beasts in the central parts of the forest. 

Aside from that, its name also had quite the history... A bloody past that no one wishes to remember. Every one hundred years, a huge horde of beasts will attack the surrounding settlements, big or small. And it's not just a small scale attack, but millions of savage beasts will ravage the surrounding cities and empires. It was as if they were being commanded by someone since it was impossible for savage beasts to band together. Unless a much stronger beast with high enough intelligence had the capability of ordering the beast horde.

Regarding these tales, Cale and his group ignored them. They merrily set up their camp and even barbecued the meat of the beasts that they have hunted along the way.

A fragrant aroma wafted in the air from the meat that they had barbecued, assailing their nostrils. They closed their eyes and took in a deep breath as they inhaled the mouth-watering smell. 

Cale's eyes lit up as he took a big bite from the barbecue. His lips were stained with grease, but he continued on chewing the succulent meat.

"A high-level savage beast really tastes heavenly. Brogen, I didn't know you were this good at barbecuing meat." Cale praised Brogen which made the latter laugh heartily in response.

"My lord, I was used to this kind of life in my previous world." Brogen's voice contained a faint trace of nostalgia. 

The group who were happily eating their barbecue suddenly glanced at a certain direction. They heard countless savage beasts moving towards them. They might have smelled the fragrant aroma coming from the barbecue.

Cale was still nonchalantly eating and he had no plans of moving from his spot. Zero who looked bored stood up and smiled at the incoming group of savage beasts. 

He squinted his eyes after seeing their appearance. They were tall and muscular horses with one horn on their foreheads. Their eyes contained malice and greed as they stared at the barbecue that Cale's group was eating. Their sharp teeth were like saws, and their large nostrils emitted fumes as they glared at Cale's group.

There were about several dozen of these beasts surrounding them. If not for the profound aura that Cale and his subordinates were emitting, these savage beasts would have long since pounced on them.

Cale glanced nonchalantly at the horses and his eyes suddenly lit up. 

'I wonder how these horses would taste like. With those toned and muscular bodies, their meat shouldn't be that bad when cooked properly, right?' 

"Cale this group of Savage Horned Knights would help you arrived faster in Celestial Sword Empire. Since your group is still recovering their elemental essence, using these horses as a means of transportation is a good option. And besides, it is easy to subdue this group of Savage Horned Knights." Asteria's calm voice instantly erased Cale's plan on having a horse meat barbecue. 

"How could I even subdue these starve horses?" Cale asked dejectedly.

"Simple... Subdue their leader, the Savage Horned Knight King." Asteria replied in the same calm voice.

"You're making it sound so easy. Look at these horses. All of them are at the Divine-Class level. Even Zero would have to use a considerable amount of time to defeat them all. And their leader shouldn't be that weak either." Cale calmly analyzed while looking at the horses who were getting impatient.

He stood up and patted at the dust off his butt. He then held Zero back from attacking the horses and spoke with a faint smile.

"Zero, let me do this..." 

Zero was taken aback, but he still bowed his head at Cale before moving back on his spot. Everyone glanced at Cale in amusement, while waiting for him to move. They thought that Cale would use his Saint level set equipment to kill this group of savage horses, but they were surprised to see him calmly walk amidst the group of horses.

The Savage Horned Knights parted a path for Cale as if they were afraid of him. They were wary of this human who had emitted the strongest aura among his group. They neighed warily, but they did not attack Cale.

Savage beasts can easily detect the fluctuation of energy on other beings. They use this ability to escape from much stronger predators. But in this case, the barbecued meat was too alluring for them to ignore.

Cale glanced at the tallest horse among the group. It also had one horn, but its horn was different than the others. It was safer to say that it was like a sword. Its ash black scales were like thin bionic armors, providing it with a sturdy defense. There was also a pair of long black wings attach on its back.

"How can a savage beast look so elegant and domineering at the same time?" Cale muttered to himself after seeing the muscular horse neighing warily at him.

"Eh? This isn't a Savage Horned Knight King... Strange, did it mutate?" Cale then heard Asteria's surprised voice which was a bit astonishing, since it rarely happens.

"What do you mean, Asteria?" Cale asked doubtfully.

"Ah... Nothing, just do what I told you to do... You might even get a strong companion... As expected of a fragment holder..." Asteria murmured the last sentence so Cale failed to hear it clearly. His gaze was focused on the elegant stallion who was looking at him aloofly like a noble beast.

Cale took out a piece of barbecued meat from his storage space and stretched out his hands. The muscular stallion snorted mockingly as if it won't fall for the human's tricks. 

Cale smiled and took out more barbecued meat from his storage space. He then inhaled the fragrant smell of the meat before walking closer to the stallion. 

The smell traveled on the stallion's large nostrils, invoking its sense of hunger. A line of drool appeared on its mouth as it glanced at the barbecued meat from Cale's hands. 

Cale smiled while looking at the stallion's conflicted look.

"Come on buddy, this is for you. My only wish is for us to become friends, that's all. I also don't want to hurt your lovely subordinates." Cale spoke earnestly. Asteria harrumphed coldly when she heard Cale. If she hadn't heard Cale's thought earlier about the horse meat barbecue, then even she would have believed his earnest words.

The stallion's gaze softened as if it understood Cale's words. It then sniffed the barbecued meat in front of it, before it took a big bite. The stallion did not even spare the stick and happily munched on it as if it was a rare delicacy. 

"Good, there there... Don't worry, there are still more..." Cale stroke the cold scales of the stallion while taking out more barbecues from his storage space.

The stallion allowed Cale to stroke its scales. Its focus was completely on the barbecue that Cale gave to it. 

He then pulled the horse towards his subordinates and instructed them to give the rest of the barbecue to the hungry horses. 

His subordinates were surprised after seeing the muscular horse that was rubbing its head on Cale. It was actually a Saint-Class level savage beast!

"What luck! You actually subdued a Brutal Armored Pegasus! How did this backwater world even give birth to such a creature... Strange, there should be more about this world than what meets the eyes. Interesting!" Asteria muttered to herself mysteriously. 

Cale ignored her as he was busy playing with his new friend.

"From now on, your name will be Ember.